Unplanned
by ThatFangirlHybridSuperhero
Summary: It's been the best two months since they got together, but now an unplanned pregnancy could screw everything up. Canon-divergence set eight weeks after 1x10 where Hayes and Wallace try to work their life and relationship out.
1. Chapter 1

It's eight weeks later when things all start to go wrong.

It never usually catches her off guard but when they have their first proper disagreement since becoming a sort-of couple, Hayes can't help but lie awake at night wondering just how she managed to screw this one up. She can't help it when members of her team have a crisis, a crisis which requires hours of talking, hours of sitting.

She definitely can't help it when she's sworn to secrecy. Being first daughter of the United States had taught her many life lessons, useless things like how to escape from a personal detail, how to appropriately greet members of allied nations, how to Hotwire a car, but also important things.

The most important lesson being the first daughter of the United States taught her was the importance of secrets. Keeping someones secrets meant keeping trust.

So when she ends up completely missing a dinner Connor had planned weeks in advance with no good explanation other than she was busy with a case, it causes a few problems. He knows that there is no case, he's her boss after all, and by the smell of bourbon on her clothes he jumps to a conclusion, the wrong one of course.

She doesn't tell him that she smells of alcohol because she'd taken it from Maxine, dropping the glass all over herself in the progress. Secrets are important. She shrugs it off in usual Hayes style, a smart comment, walking out the door and ending up in her brother's apartment.

Jackson's not there and for a while, Hayes wonders about calling him, but she doesn't and instead ends up sleeping all through the night, until precisely 7.46am, when she rolls out of bed and ends up with her head in the toilet.

"Shit", she moans as the vomiting continues. She carries on heaving until there's nothing but bile, her stomach aching, her throat sore, and when she finally gathers the strength to stand there urge to vomit is replaced by a dizziness that she just can't shake off. Her day is only made worse when she sees the time, it's past 9 and she's late.

When she finally makes it to the CIU, her team are all sat around waiting for her and Connor Wallace is leaning on a table, arms crossed, face unhappy. He takes one look at her, hair not styled, red eyed and pale and shakes his head. "Nice of you to join us Hayes, late night?"

She swallows, partly to choke down the vomit in her throat but also to stop herself from saying anything without thinking. "I wasn't feeling too great this morning, I assume you've all got a case to pitch to me?"

Wallace makes a sound of disappointment and starts to leave, "I was telling the team that I was going away for a few days before you got here in case you were interested, I won't be back until Friday so please try and not piss off anyone with authority whilst I'm gone." It's a low blow. They've been living together for the best part of 8 weeks and now he's going away for a few days at a moments notice. If she hadn't turned up when she did it would have been second hand news. It hurts more than he could ever understand but Hayes figures he'd just had enough of her, after all, she'd broken his heart more than a few times so instead of a scathing comment, she just smiles sadly, "Have a great trip."

...

That was days ago and when she finally manages to stop retching into the toilet for more than 5 seconds she looks up at the mounted wall clock. It's 8.55am and Friday, meaning Connors' plane has already landed and he's probably one his way to the office, the office that she's going to be late to for the 6th day in a row. In fact, the office she hadn't made it to since Wednesday.

After days of being sick her stomach is completely empty and her throat raw. So raw that when she looks down into the toilet bowl she sees red, spots of blood from tears in her oesophagus. She hasn't eaten in days, nothing more substantial than a dry biscuit. Her head is pounding and whether that's from constant sickness or the lack of food for the past week she can't quite figure out. God she wishes Connor was here to look after her, or at least take her to a doctor or something. She rang him once, after not even making it into work the previous day and it went to voicemail. She didn't leave a message. Sam text to tell her they'd worked the case out Wednesday evening and since then she suspects they think she's taking a long weekend. After all, she's their boss.

Hayes laughs, or tries to, because it's laughable to think this is any kind of enjoyable weekend. She finally manages to crawl back into bed, telling herself that this would pass. It had been on three days ago when she had this awful feeling that maybe she had forgotten to take her birth control a few times and three pregnancy tests later confirmed this suspicion. That explained the sickness and a quick google later informed her that she is one of the few women who experiencesevere morning sickness during pregnancy. What luck.

...

Across town, Connor Wallace strides across from the elevator and into the team office at the CIU. It takes him all but a second to notice Hayes is missing.

"Where's Hayes?" He asks Sam. He knows he'll get an honest answer from him.

Sam laughs, "Not here, she hasn't been for the past two days. Someone's taking full advantage of your trip if you ask me, probably getting her hair done somewhere."

Connor swears, out loud or not, he's not sure. Why can't she just do as she's told, go to work like a normal person, Jesus Christ.

He turns to Sam again, "I'm going to go and sort some things out, you need to find the next case, get to it."

With that, he storms out of the office and to his car. He pulls his key to Jackson's apartment out from the glove compartment and drives.

...

She's drifting off into sleep or is half passed out when she hears a door slamming and footsteps. "Hayes!"

It's Connor and he's furious. She feels the air whoosh as her bedroom door is flung open and in walks her boss and boyfriend. "What the hell are you doing Hayes, I go away for 6 days and suddenly you think you can decide whether or not to work depending on what you've been drinking the night before?"

It's then that his footsteps stop and she smell him he's so close. She's in her work clothes from an unsuccessful attempt to get up the previous day. "Hayes?"

Her eyes finally open, blood vessels burst from the vomiting, and she sees his whole expression change. "I tried to get to work but I just didn't feel too good, I'm sorry."

Her voice sounds hollow from days without much more than a glass of water and when Connor hears her speak the anger shadowing his blue eyes is replaced by concern, his brow furrowing as he sets himself down on the edge of the bed. He's confused more than anything because Hayes looks terrible. Not in the drank the bar dry the night before type of terrible but a needing a hospital type way. She's ghostly pale, shaking and when he reaches for her hand, he realises that she's lost weight. His mind goes back 6 days to her arriving at the office late after they'd had a disagreement, she'd been pale them and he'd assumed the wrong thing, hell he'd even ignored her calls for days.

He rubs the back of her hand as she pulls her other up to her stomach, groaning.

"Tell me what's going on Hayes, please, you look awful."

It's true, she does look like complete and utter death and probably should be in hospital right now but she doesn't want to show that weakness. But the part of her that loves Connor Wallace tells her that he deserves to know the truth, deserves to know that she's pregnant with his baby.

"I keep getting sick, so I took a test."

 _Oh_ , he thinks. "And?"

It's a pointless question because why else would she even mention taking a test. "I took three, all positive."

He wants to yell at her more than anything at that moment, wants to scream at her for being so careless but he takes another look at her face and just can't. She looks more upset than he is. She looks distraught and very very sick.

"When was the last time you ate something?" He asks gently, completely moving away from the pregnancy revelation.

It takes her a few seconds. "Wednesday maybe, I don't remember."

Wallace just nods, completely unsure of what to say or what to do. Does she need a hospital? Does she even want him here after he ignored her calls? He does the only thing he knows how to do and hugs her close, only breaking away when she groans in discomfort. "What is it?" He asks, immediately concerned.

She shakes her head, the head that is still buried in his chest, "Everything just hurts when I sit up."

He hums quietly in response to her comment and leaves it. It's almost an hour later that they finally make any sort of move. She tells him she feels much better, tells him she's going to change, get a shower. He cleans the bathroom as she showers, puts clean sheets on the bed and acts like Hayes hasn't just told him she's pregnant with his child. When she finally makes it out of the shower, into clean clothes he looks at her with her damp hair and make up free face wondering just how he could ever be angry with her in the first place. He makes her some toast, a cup of tea and just sits and watches as she eats it all. By the time her plate is cleared she's no longer shaking or so pale.

"You need to see a doctor, they can give you some medication to stop the nausea a little."

Hayes nods, "I have a friend who works privately stopping by to give me the tablets. We had a Skype consultation yesterday. She said she'd take bloods whilst she's here to make sure there's nothing serious going on other than the puking my stomach lining up every five minutes."

His eyebrows come together in confusion because the Hayes Wallace knows would not be acting so calmly to all this, wouldn't be calling doctors for advice or telling him the truth without some sarcastic comment thrown in for good measure. She most certainly wouldn't have let him stroke her hand or hold her after he'd ignored her calls for a week. She's changed and it's confusing to say the least. They spend the day just talking, or rather Wallace asks Hayes a question about what the hell they were going to do now and she replies, only with the occasional scathing comment. She takes the medicine, has her blood drawn and by the time she makes it to bed at 11.30 that night she feels much better. Wallace stays with her and it's only when she's lying away from him in bed on the cusp of sleep does he finally work up the courage to say what he'd been meaning to the second he found out she was pregnant. "I'm sorry Hayes, I should have answered your calls, God I should have never left you for a week in the first place."

That's all she needs to hear for her to turn over to her left and face Connor Wallace. "I forgive you, this isn't your fault, I'm the screw up here, remember?"

"No Hayes, I might not have majored in biology at college but I know that you don't just get yourself pregnant, this is on me too."

It makes her smile, eyes lighting up for the first time in days. They light up even more when she realises something else. Her mother is going to freak out. Her only daughter pregnant after being in a relationship for 2 months with her boss, the same boss who got her off cocaine possession charges. She wraps her arms around Wallace's chest, still smiling. "You get to tell my mother." She finally whispers.

They both laugh and somehow everything about that day ends up being ok.

.


	2. Chapter 2

Five weeks later and everything it as normal as it can be in the world of Hayes Morrison.

She goes back to work after having the long weekend. Sam looks confused when she walks in Monday morning, early for once and with a smile on her face. She expects he thought that snitching on her to Wallace would have her miserable, but in actual fact, Sam was the reason for her having the best sex in her life. It takes Maxine all of five seconds to notice her weight loss, paleness (even with medication, morning sickness was still a bitch!) and Tess only a few more seconds after that.

"You really weren't taking a long weekend, you were actually sick!" Tess says, and somewhere in the background Sam is handing Frankie a handful of dollars. She and Wallace had decided to keep the pregnancy thing secret, give them more time to work out how everything was going to happen, so Hayes plays along.

"Practically on the brink of death," she says dramatically before sinking into her comfy office chair, "Now what's our next case?"

...

That was five cases ago and a month has passed without much change. She still woke up every morning and went to work, complained just as much, ate breakfast, threw her breakfast up and acted like her and Wallace weren't sleeping together or sharing an apartment. There had been a scan the previous week, an ultrasound now hidden in the top draw of her desk. Wallace had one too and when she had peeked in his wallet (to borrow his card) she saw it slotted neatly inside. She'd hadn't told the rest of the team yet, or anyone for that matter. There was hardly any weight gain thanks to the half stone she lost being sick for an entire week so her plan was to keep it quiet for as long as possible.

So far it had been a success and her team thought she was as volatile and Wallace loathing as ever. But of course when things started to go right for Hayes, they usually started to go wrong just as quickly.

She'd been with Frankie all morning, interviewing a potential suspect in a case they were convinced the person convicted of the crime had not committed. They'd stopped for gas at a service station, Hayes telling Frankie to fill the car whilst she goes to the ladies room. Her breakfast makes a reappearance, and for the first time in 5 weeks throwing up makes her feel even worse than not. She feels off but after buying a bottle of water in the service station, and a coffee for Frankie she heads back to the car feeling a little better. He accepts the coffee, confused as to why Hayes Morrison has brought him a drink, before he feels the weight of the car keys in his hand.

"You're driving." She doesn't even give him chance to argue before sliding into the passenger seat.

They're half a mile down the road before he even thinks to question her, "Since when do you let me drive your car?"

She smiles, "Since I'm your boss and think you should be a little more grateful since I just brought you coffee."

They leave it at that.

...

The interview with the suspect goes in a concerning direction, ends with Hayes with her back against the wall, and a man slamming his hand into the dry wall next to her. She smiles as Frankie pulls him back, tells him they're leaving. He doesn't hesitate to pull Hayes by her arm to get her out of there, pulls her all the way to the car because there is no doubt in his own mind that the man they'd just spoken to was a killer. She's not smiling now as they head back to the CIU to try and get some concrete evidence on the guy. Frankie peers over to her when they're stopped at some lights. She's pale. "You ok boss?"

"I'm great. Why wouldn't I be?"

He laughs, "A murderer just threatened to kill you I'd say that's a good reason not to be ok."

"Believe it or not Frankie but that was definitely not the worst thing a man has ever said to me."

...

An hour later, Hayes wants nothing more than to go home. She feels like death if death was 13 weeks pregnant, agitated and exhausted. Arguments between her team merge into meaningless sound and when she looks at the clock, she realises that lunch has come and gone. It explains the tiredness, but doesn't explain the throbbing in her head, or the taste of metal in her mouth. Her hand is hovering over her cell phone because she knows something isn't right. She remembers Connors' warning to her after the scan last wee _k, call me if you feel ill Hayes, I don't want you to do this on your own._

"Hayes?" Tess' voice cuts into her thoughts, as she diverts her eyes up once again, all of her team suddenly quiet. "What do we do now?"

She swallows once, "Go with Frankie's idea, if it works out its better proof for a court case, Sam listen to him, you might learn something." That's when she decides to make her exit, pushes back her chair, grabs her phone, to go find a toilet to put her head into or maybe to find her boyfriend because she really isn't feeling too good.

The moment she decides to take her exit is also the moment Sam decides to prove the size of his balls, "Hayes! Where the hell are you going, we need you with us on this, we've only got a day left!" His body is blocking the door before Hayes can even get there.

"Move."

He doesn't.

She steps forward, "Sam just get out of the way." Her head is swarming, and Sam is looking not quite like Sam anymore. Instead he's the suspect from the morning and when he takes a step forward to move away from the door in defeat Hayes just sees the face of a killer moving forward, it's gone before she can even blink but there long enough to make her take a wobbly step backwards.

Her world tilts, everything to bright and too loud. She thinks someone says her name but Hayes can't be sure. The last thing she remembers is the pain that erupts in her head before everything is just darkness.

...

Sam's arms don't reach her in time because it has all just happened so suddenly. One minute she's telling him to move, stepping forward as if to push him out of the way and to avoid confrontation with his boss he moves out of the door way but then it all goes wrong because she takes a step back and before he can even start to reach for her she's on the floor. He thinks she hit her head on the table there was a noise as she fell.

She doesn't move, Sam doesn't move, the only one that has the common sense to see what the hell just happened is Maxine. She's reaching for Hayes, inspecting her head, taking a pulse and then and only then does she turn to the rest of the group, "I think she fainted, we need to elevate her legs."

Tess is quick to comment, "She hit her head, do you think I should call for an ambulance?"

Maxine contemplates because Hayes head did hit the glass table pretty hard, but then she thinks about how her boss would react to waking up with EMTs Hovering over her and shakes her head. "Let's get her onto the couch first and give her a few minutes, if she wakes up and her head doesn't feel good I can drive her to an ER."

Sam nods, "I'll give Wallace's office a call, let him know what's going on."

Four minutes later, Hayes is coming round and who better to wake up to than your entire team hovering over you. If she wasn't feeling so awful in that moment it could have been embarrassing but for the time being, she didn't care. The pain in her head was so much worse and she was more dizzy and nauseous than she'd been for the past 5 weeks. She can only manage to get two words out before she's leaning over the side of the couch, vomiting into a waste bin. She thinks Sam and Frankie have left the room, she can only see Maxine's shoes and then she can feel hands holding her hair back so that means Tess is still standing over her. Once again she's retching nothing, her stomach is empty and it only takes a minute or two for a burning to appear in her throat when it becomes raw once more. There's warmth on her face and she presumes that they're tears, her eyes leaking from the vomiting.

She stops being sick then, leans her head back against the couch and closes her eyes wondering how the hell she's going to talk herself out of this one without everyone knowing her secret.

"Do you think you have a concussion?" Tess asks.

Hayes shakes her head, and even the slight movement makes the pain worse. "That depends on whether you've called for an ambulance or not."

Maxine smiles because she was right, Hayes Morrison was definitely not getting into the back of an ambulance. "No ambulance, Sam has just called Wallace though so it might not stay that way for much longer."

Hayes is sitting up before Maxine can finish the sentence because Wallace is going to be furious with her. She knows exactly how it will go and she just hopes that he has enough self control not to tell everyone about her pregnancy. She's not going to argue with him though, when he ultimately tells her to go home, probably ends up taking her home, because she does feel like crap. She runs her hands through her hair and leans forward, elbows on knees. "Why the fuck did you call him?"

Maxine doesn't give her an answer this time, simply shakes her head and holds her hands up.

...

There's only a few seconds of silence before the elevator pings and the familiar sound of Wallace's perfectly shone shoes descend on the CIU. He's surprisingly calmer than she thought he'd be and not shouting out about her pregnancy as expected, so when the footsteps stop right next to her, Hayes doesn't panic too much about having to look up.

When she does meet his gaze, his blue eyes are stormy and she sees him swallow hard, swallow down whatever comment he wanted to say at that moment because they're not alone. He takes her in, every single detail. She's practically grey, eyes red and hands shaking. Wallace just wants to pull her up and into his arms but when he looks into Hayes brown eyes he can see her pleading with him not to do just that. She's not ready for the world to know about them, or their baby.

She speaks first, trying to lighten the mood. "I think I need to go home."

He nods, "The most sensible thing you've said in a while. I'll give you a lift."

She stands, shakily, grabs her coat and purse and makes her way towards the door. Tess, as always has to ask a question, "Does she need somebody to stay with her, in case she does have a concussion Sir?" It's a statement more than a question but Wallace answers anyway. "Don't worry about Hayes, I have a clear schedule this afternoon, I'll make sure she's ok."

.


	3. Chapter 3

He manages not to say anything until they reach the elevator, manages not to touch her anywhere other than the small of her back until the doors close, but that's as long as he can go. The doors shut and boyfriend Wallace makes his presence known.

He pulls her into him so quickly her head spins, his hands finding her hair in seconds as he holds her close. That lasts only a few seconds before he's pulling back, hands travelling to her temple where a small bruise has formed and Hayes can't help but wince at his touch.

"What happened?" He finally asks, voice gentle.

"I face planted a table, I thought Sam would have filled you in on that already."

It's mean, because she knows he would have been sat at his desk, probably worrying about her as usual, been expecting a call about the case from his protégée. Of course the call hadn't been about the case and she can imagine the worry he must have felt in that moment, the worry of not knowing and not being able to do anything. God she's so mean but her head hurts, it's been a long day and she'd skipped lunch. He doesn't deserve it though. Sighing, she finally gives him a proper answer. "I was feeling off this morning, puked in a service station, interviewed a suspect who turned out to have a very short temper, missed lunch and was about to find a toilet bowl to put my head into or call you when I decided that fainting in front of everybody was a great idea."

He kisses her gently on the lips, his barely touching hers because who wants the taste of someone else's vomit in their mouth, then pulls back again, waiting for the elevator to ping and open again. "We can take your car."

...

Wallace drives with one hand on the wheel and the other interlocked with Hayes'. Her head is leant back against the rest watching the road go by.

He's worried about her, so worried he can barely focus on getting to her apartment. He wants to stop at the ER and get her checked over but he knows the type of fuss she'll kick up if he even mentions it, besides he has enough trust in her to know she would tell him if she needed to take a trip to the hospital.

Still, he's worried.

Hayes sighs.

"What are you thinking about?" He asks.

He thinks he sees her smiling from the corner of his eyes, but can't be sure. "Im thinking about how much I want McDonald's right about now, which is odd given that I was being sick twenty minutes ago."

She gets her McDonald's and eats it in the car, Wallace shaking his head when she drops crumbs everywhere. "That's disgusting, I can't believe you're eating in your Audi."

She shoots him a look, "Well Connor it's either I eat my food now or I choose another surface to fall down unconscious on. Would you prefer the sidewalk or the building stairs, because I can try to make the stairs if you would prefer your heroic save to be captured on camera."

That shuts him up, at least for a few seconds. "I would prefer that you never scare me like that again."

She can't promise him that, of course she can't, but she does anyway. "I won't." I'm sorry.

"I like it when you call me Connor." He tells her as they pull into her parking spot and she unbuckles her belt.

Hayes raises her eyebrows in response, "What else would I call you? It's your name."

"For the past thirteen years you've called me Wallace, I'm allowed to appreciate the fact that you can manage two syllables of my first name now."

She shrugs, car door open. "You didn't get me pregnant thirteen years ago." She shuts the door.

His own door slams shut. "Point taken."

By the time Hayes has the key in the door to the apartment, Connor has her hand in his again, watching her struggle to try and open the door with only one hand. She cusses him loudly but doesn't try to pull away. The McDonalds has momentarily brightened the mood between them but it only takes a quick glance to Hayes bruised temple and the dark circles under her eyes to make him remember the reason neither of them are in the office right now.

"You should go lie down for a while, see if it makes you feel any better." Wallace tells her as they walk through the door.

"Let's hope you don't get called back into work, you'd have to call Tess to babysit me and by the time you got back I would be cocooned in bubble wrap and smothered."

He smiles sadly, pulling her closer once more, "You should have though about bubble wrap when you decided to faint."

They're about to kiss when a loud and familiar voice interrupts.

"You fainted Hayes?"

 _Fuck_. they have enough time to pull away from each other just as Jackson rounds the corner. She had completely forgotten her brother actually lived in the apartment for the past few weeks. He's never usually home, she didn't think he'd been home since she found out she was pregnant. Now she was stood face to face with the one person in the world who knows her better than anyone, knows that she has never fainted before in her life. It takes him about 0.3 seconds to notice the bruise forming on her head before he's stricken with panic. "Hayes, you do know we're suppose to be going to a charity event tonight to help with mums campaign and now I'm going to have to rework your whole look and come up with some amazing press story as to how you got that on your head and it's all going to be a disaster!"

She raises her eyebrows in response because one minute he's asking her if she's fainted sounding mildly concerned and the next it's a huge catastrophe because she won't look perfect in their mother's campaign. "Hi Jackson, nice to see you too after about 3 months."

He huffs, "Hayes you know I love you and missed you but you know how much I love my job and tonight was suppose to be perfect. How am I going to stop the press printing a story about you falling over drunk and drugged and hitting your head?"

Wallace finally speaks, "I think the solution is quite simple. Hayes doesn't go to the event later. She hit her head pretty hard and really isn't feeling too great."

Her brother turns to face her once more and sighs, "What am I suppose to tell mum Hayes?"

She knows she shouldn't relent and go out later but the thought of letting Jackson down is not something she likes. With a shake of her head and a sigh, Hayes relents. "You're not going to tell her anything, I'll go tonight and I'll speak to the press. I tripped over at work in front of a room full of witnesses so it's not going to be a problem. I just need a few hours before to take a nap or something."

She can feel the daggers Wallace is sending her way but he knows that telling her not to go to the charity event is pointless, Hayes would do anything for her brother. Jackson says something about a dress hanging up outside her room, then rushes off, yelling something about a car picking her up at 7.

...

Connor says nothing for almost an hour, sits sulking in a chair, texting excessively and angrily. Hayes lies on the bed, then eventually in the bed. Infact it's as she's climbing underneath the sheets that a moan of discomfort leaves her mouth and before she can get fully under and comfortable she notices Wallace has stopped texting. Even when he's angry with her he can't help but be worried. It's nice.

He drops his phone onto the table next to him and smiles, "You're not feeling sick again are you?"

She shakes her head, which is difficult considering she's lying on her side. "No, my stomachs just all cramped up, I'm sure it'll pass."

Clearly the word cramped is a mistake because in a second Wallace goes from mildly amused to horrified. There was the conversation they had with the obstetrician a few weeks ago, symptoms of miscarriage, signs to look out for, and cramping was one of them. _Shit_. "I'm fine, I think I pulled a muscle in my stomach earlier when I was throwing up in the office, don't worry."

"An hour ago you were passed out on the floor of the CIU, you probably have a concussion and you just agreed to spend the evening being flirted with by older men and abused by the press, forgive me for being a little worried." He takes a breath, "Are you positive that you're ok, the -baby's ok?"

She nods. "I told you that I'm fine, and if I'm fine that means our baby is also completely fine. I'm going to go to this charity event tonight and stay just long enough that my mother has time to show me off in front of her new friends, then I'm going to come back to your apartment and we can...cuddle."

He laughs, "Cuddle?"

"Yep, I have a concussion, remember? No sex for you."

She's playing with him, but it works. "I'm not a doctor Hayes and even though I wish you'd go and see one, I can't diagnose you. I'm looking forward to us cuddling later on regardless."

...

She gets about an hour to nap before Wallace shakes her awake. He has to leave for a meeting, had to leave twenty minutes ago really, but Jackson has only just walked through the door and he couldn't leave her alone. "Be careful tonight, but have fun." There's a kiss in there somewhere, on her head this time which is sweet, but he lingers far too long for innocence and the follow up kiss straight to her mouth can hardly be described as innocent.

He sees himself out. Smiles at Jackson politely, tells him to look after Hayes.

Its a whirlwind of stuff to do after that. Jackson is fussing over her face because the bruise is slightly visible, will definitely be visible to reporters with high spec cameras and he doesn't want bad press this close to the campaign. He does buy her food though. The Chinese delivery arrives just as the last of her make up is applied and she digs into the noodles gratefully. The less chance she has of fainting, the better. The next thing she knows she's in the back of a car, alone of course because Jackson had to be there early to organise everything even though it's not even his job. The windows are tinted enough that the cameras flashing aren't particularly blinding but nevertheless, the thought of getting out of the car and going into the spotlight daunts Hayes for the first time in years.

She wishes Connor was there to hold her hand and make everything ok; she doesn't know whether it's pregnancy hormones or just some ridiculous sudden personality change but suddenly Hayes is feeling more than a little bit needy. Then again, it might be the thought of spending the evening with her mother, that's enough to make anyone question their sanity.

...

 _Hayes!_

 _Hayes look at the camera!_

 _Hayes Morrison let us get a photo of you looking so great!_

They're like vultures, all wanting a piece of her with no sharing involved. There's a whole line of them and one disapproving look from Jackson when she tries to walk past them all without giving a second glance stops her on the spot. She'll answer a few questions just to keep her brother happy. She turns to the nearest reporter. He's younger than most and has a nice smile, less predatory looking.

"Could I ask you how it is working with your ex-boyfriend Connor Wallace so closely, does it stir up any old feelings?"

It's a crappy question so a crappy answer will do, "The only feeling that gets stirred up for my working in the CIU is the desire for justice in our system. Being able to help people who have been let down by the the system is important."

The questions continue. There's the same ones about drugs, rumours of men she's having sex with and generally just bullshit she's answered so many times before. It's only when the headlights of a car light up the left side of her face do the questions get more personal and if she doesn't give them the right answer her face is going to be plastered all over the tabloids the next morning.

"I had an unfortunate incident with a table at work earlier today and fell into it with my head as you can probably tell. No drinking was involved, unless you count the large americano I had three hours earlier. If you'll excuse me, I need to be getting inside now."

...

Hayes lights up her phone screen to check the time and notices that over an hour has passed since she first got there. For once in her life, she manages to hide from the spotlight and whether it's the fact her make up is the most toned down its ever been (she wasn't feeling the red lipstick) or the fact she barely looks like the over confident Hayes Morrison everyone is used to, she kind of likes it. Being able to stand in the corner of a room an not be bombarded with questions and not be the best reason for middle aged women giving her disapproving looks when their husbands smile at her just a little too much to be polite is nice. She likes the quiet and even in a room that's bustling with noise, Hayes is just glad that none of that noise is being directed towards her.

One more hour, she tells herself as she fixes her dress position once more. It's a dress she tried on months ago before getting pregnant. It's form fitting and even though shes not gained much weight, it feels uncomfortably tight around the bust and waist. It's only as she tries to cross her arms over her front to hide an almost non existent bump that Hayes notices just how uncomfortable the bust of the dress is. _Jesus Christ_ , she thinks, _my boobs hurt._ It's enough to make her consider leaving the charity event right that second, but before she even has the chance to take a step, she hears her mother yelling her name. "Hayes, darling!"

Her mouth goes dry because Hayes knows just how observant her mother is when it comes to picking out flaws. When she was fifteen she spent the summer in Hawaii and put on a few pounds. It was just a few but her mother noticed every single one and dessert was a huge no for at least 2 months after that. The first time her mother caught her using drugs a few years later was another time her amazing powers of observation came into play. She didn't like the look of those dark circles under her eyes, the underside of Hayes' nose looked a little dry and three seconds later she was closing a door and giving her daughter a huge telling off.

It's a new record set then. Her mother is over a metre away when her eyebrows knit together in confusion (maybe concern, Hayes can't tell because she doesn't remember her mother ever being concerned before). She hopes its the bruise that catches her mothers eye because at least she can explain that.

"Hayes honey, you look a little pale, are you alright?"

She goes with the story she told the press because consistency is the key.

It doesn't work.

Her mother shakes her head, eyes travelling up and down her daughters frame, thoughts ticking over. "Hmm, you still look a little off, I can't tell if you've gained weight or lost it." Blunt as always Mother.

"A little of both I think. I had the flu a few weeks ago and lost some weight, then obviously put it back on."

It's still not enough to convince her mother, who just nods her head in a way that is not quite agreeing or accepting the statement. "Are you sure you're ok darling?"

 _No, I'm pregnant with my boss/ex boyfriends baby, and we are now together but nobody knows. I nearly died of dehydration a few weeks ago and spent the entire eight week of my pregnancy puking up my guts. I've had a shit day and really just want to go to bed right now but I'm stuck here at this event that I don't want to be at._ She doesn't say this of course.

"I'm just a little concussed I think, and tired, we've had a busy case this week. I was just about to leave to go get an early night when you came over. You don't mind if I leave soon do you?"

Her mother sighs but still shakes her head, "If you're not feeling well then go get an early night, I don't want to make you any worse." She kisses her daughter on the cheek, "Goodnight Hayes."

...

Connor's still doing paperwork when she arrives back at his apartment. Her make up's already gone thanks to Jackson stocking up the car with nice things for her and her ridiculously high shoes have be replaced by flats, so when she opens the door to his apartment and he looks up, she's not surprised when he frowns.

She sighs and closes the door behind her, "Before you start commenting on how awful I look and offer for the 90th time today to take me to the ER, I have no make up on and have had a long day."

He smiles, an almost forced pulling of the lips. "I was just going to say that I don't remember you being that short." He holds out his hand to her as she moves closer and pulls her in to face him as she approaches. He's sat on a bar stool but even then, he's still the same height as her without heels.

She frowns as the dress tugs uncomfortably when Connor decides to wrap her arms around her middle and stands to greet her.

"I can't wait to get out of this dress." She says.

Hayes feels his breath stutter against her ear because he isn't expecting her to say that and clearly takes the comment the wrong way. She gets in there with a follow up before he can berate her about her fragility and importance of her wellbeing aka no sex for Hayes. "I forgot that I've gained a few pounds since it was measured and I spent all evening thinking about how tight it was over my boobs."

He chuckles. "I'm no expert on pregnancy but I think that's what suppose to happen. Then I'm suppose to take you shopping to get new clothes that are more comfortable."

It's a strange way to offer but he's clearly trying to take her out shopping for clothes that fit. A round-about way of telling her that she needs bigger clothes.

"If that's you offering to take me on a date where you spend all of your money showering me with gifts and take me to a restaurant of my choice then I accept." She smiles.

He smiles and kisses her. "I was thinking you could come with me to LA next week for a conference and then we could hit the shops there without reporters sniffing about and asking questions. You don't have to come to the conference but it would be a nice break away from the CIU for you."

It's a good idea but the dress really is making it too uncomfortable to be happy about so Hayes just nods and begins to move away, the conversation clearly over for now.

"We can cuddle after I get this off, I feel like I'm about to suffocate."

He follows after her as he always does and probably always will do.

.


	4. Chapter 4

It's only as Hayes catches sight of her reflection in a mirror as she's slipping on her heels a few days later that she realises she looks kind of...pregnant. It's a completely stupid thing to be thinking about given the fact that she was actually pregnant and it was inevitable that this was going to happen, but still, it's a bit of a shocker. She's done well, 15 weeks without paparazzi running stories about love children from one night stands or articles about her weight gain (she's not gained that much). 15 weeks without her mother judging her for having sex with her boss and getting pregnant. It's been great, but now she's well into her second trimester and actually wearing maternity outfits, there's not a chance this can go on any longer.

She suspects Maxine knows. The woman had definitely raised her eyebrows a week earlier when Hayes returned from L.A. looking particularly happy with herself, clad in new clothes and smiling. She'd seen the way the woman's eyes zoned quickly into her midsection, head tilting as if pondering the possibility of her boss being pregnant. She still hasn't said anything since then about her suspicions and Hayes doubts she will do.

Conner is already at work thanks to a breakfast meeting, so Hayes is alone and left wondering what the hell she's going to do about the fact that she's about to walk into her office and probably going to have to confess her new love for junk food or the fact she's pregnant thanks to the way these new pants make her look. There's another option of course- stay at home and call in sick until she figures what the hell to do, but that's pointless and only delaying the inevitable. Instead, she's changing into different pants that don't make her look quite as rounded and a different blazer that covers her midsection more than the other.

 _Let's go_ , she thinks, before she grabs her car keys and sets off to the office.

...

She's there for less than five minutes before Connor's texting her, asking if she's made it into work ok. She rolls her eyes, can't help but do so because she's driven the exact same route to work every day since starting and never come to any harm. It's sweet though that he cares, so she sends a quick text back, adding a kiss to the end because why the hell not. She thinks she might be smiling when Sam starts to speak.

"Are you done sexting yet Hayes or do you want us to hold for a little while longer?"

It's snappy and snarky and she can tell he's woken up on the wrong side of the bed, but nobody can outdo Hayes Morrison on a bitchiness scale. "Just checking to see how your brother liked that picture of my boobs I sent last night."

Sam pulls a face. "You're disgusting sometimes, how the hell did you get a law degree?"

Hayes smiles, "Take a joke Sam, and I got a law degree exactly the same way you did."

"I doubt that." He says.

She fakes a shocked expression. "You mean you didn't sleep with your professors to pass their classes, I thought everyone did?"

Somewhere in the room, Frankie groans, "Are we just going to carry on with a pissing contest all morning or actually get to work?"

Somehow that actually works and the CIU finally start to pick their next case.

...

A few hours later Hayes finds herself in close proximity with Sam, only this time they're alone and in Hayes car. Their new case is a big one, could lead to a leading gang member getting out of prison if they find what they think they're going to. An anonymous tip of both jury and judge bribery, something that could potentially lead to careers being destroyed and unrest on the streets. There's a lot to be done and soon the team is splitting off. Frankie wants to analyse the paper tip for evidence, he needs Tess to help. Maxine needs to go speak to contacts at the local precinct to get their ideas, and that leaves Hayes and Sam. There's only really one job to do at this point and she can't let Sam talk to someone alone again, not after the last time, so she has no choice and a while later here they find themselves, in a prison parking lot.

The silence is uncomfortable in a way it hasn't been for a while and she can't help but think something is bothering Sam. Still, he would never want her to start delving into his private life, so Hayes says nothing. As she shuts the car door and turns to face the prison, Hayes freezes because something does not feel right. There's an unexplainable sense of unease in the air, more than there usually is at a prison. Sam notices it too she thinks, because he's still gripping the car door, as if considering getting back inside. She doesn't blame him.

They find themselves inside the federal prison and talking to the warden, who's already got the person they need to talk to in an interview room ready to be questioned. There's something off about the man who greets her, a missing tie, sweat on his brow and the stench of way too much coffee on his breath. He's clearly extremely stressed about something.

"We're a little short staffed today and there's trouble with a few of the gangs we have up in here but with all the good press the CIU's been having recently I couldn't really say no to you interviewing Mr Rodrigues."

That's all the man has to say on the matter before a radio call asking for his assistance comes in and Hayes and Sam are left waiting for an officer to escort them to the interview room.

Hayes looks at her wrist watch and sees its almost lunchtime. She considers for a second stopping at a diner on the way back to the office but that thought quickly exits her head when she realises that would involve convincing Sam it's a good idea, then talking with Sam whilst they wait for food and eat, both of these things potential problems. Hayes sighs, knowing it will have to be a sandwich from the cafe opposite the CIU building later on.

They don't have to wait long for the CO to arrive and soon they're sat opposite the man they're here to see. Miguel Rodrigues looks entirely unlike his mugshot picture taken two years earlier. He's lost weight and has a few more face tattoos but there's a deep set fear in his eyes as he looks up to face Hayes and Sam. It makes Hayes swallow hard. "We believe we may be able to look at your case Mr Rodrigues with the potential to clear you of your crimes."

The man smiles and gives a humourless laugh. "My fingerprints were found on a gun that was used to shoot 4 people and I pled guilty."

Hayes speaks once more, "We have found strong evidence of a jury being bribed and a judge being threatened in order to convict you of this crime. If we can prove that there was corruption in the system that sent you to prison then we can make the evidence useless in court, fingerprints included."

Before Miguel can speak, there's a loud shout from outside the room and a bang. His head whips up to look at the door, his eyes glassy with terror once again. "As much as I like what you're saying, I really don't think I'm going to make it long enough for you to clear my name."

Sam frowns, "What the hell does that mean?"

The shouts from outside the room continue.

Miguel shakes his head, "It means that I'm probably going to be dead in a few minutes."

It's as if that triggers something because suddenly an alarm sounds and the yelling intensifies.

A guard bursts back through the door. "Sir, Miss Morrison I need you to follow me immediately."

Hayes wants to ask what the hell is going on but Sam beats her to it. "What's happening?"

The guard shakes his head, "The prisoners are rioting on the maximum security wing, they've gained control up there, so we need to get you both somewhere safe until this gets resolved."

They're ushered through the door and it's only then that the reality sinks in for Hayes. Her cell phone is with the rest of her belongings beyond the secure doors and there's no way they're going to be allowed to leave whilst there's murderers roaming around. Conner is going to be furious. "Where are we headed?"

The guard motions ahead, "There's a panic room we have for situations like this, anyone not supposed to be in the prison has to go there when things like this happen. Last time we used it was a good few years ago now."

God she really could be doing without this. "Will we have protection?"

The officer laughs and leads them through the final set of doors along the corridor, "There's three sets of doors and the last can only be opened using a code. We get that code sent through over a phone when it's safe for you to key it into the panel."

It's all a bit too much. Panic rooms and codes, reminding Hayes so much of the small number of security threats she faces when her father was president. The hours spent metres underground with a book to keep her occupied whilst the government tried to figure out whether the threat the national security and her father's life was real. She wasn't suppose to listen into these discussions of course, but she was the presidents daughter and they couldn't really stop her.

...

So now Hayes and Sam are sat on the worlds most uncomfortable chairs, in the worlds most claustrophobic room, waiting for any sort of contact from the outside world. It's not the size of the room that's the problem, it's the lack of conversation that's making it seem so small. Sam's not making any effort to talk so Hayes decides to save him the trouble.

"Are you going to tell me why you look like someone's just pissed in your coffee?"

Sam looks up sharply. "I'm pretty sure that if I didn't look like that there'd be something wrong with me. I'm in the middle of a prison riot and locked in a room not knowing when I'm going to get out. There's no reason for me to be happy."

 _True_ , Hayes thinks, but she knows he's looked like this all day, even before the turn of events. "You've been pissy all day, don't blame it on the prisoners."

He sighs, "I'm just sick of working hard and getting no reward, I wanted to go to that conference in L.A. last week, I practically begged Wallace to take me but he told me the CIU couldn't spare a member. Then the next day I find out he's taking you."

It's a strange situation but Sam is jealous, jealous of the fact that Hayes got to go to a conference that he wanted to. What he doesn't know is that she didn't even get anywhere near the event, spent the morning sleeping in and the afternoons shopping and working on potential cases. Hayes doesn't want to tell him this, but he's got it into his head he'll never achieve anything else and the look in his eyes is one of desperate unhappiness. She never wants the people who work for her to feel that, even Sam with all his scheming and scathing comments- he's too good at what he does to feel that way.

"I didn't realise that it upset you, I'm sorry Sam."

He laughs, "Are you really though? We can't all sleep our way to the top Hayes."

 _Ouch_.

Hayes physically recoils at the comment. It hurts and he knows it, knows exactly what to say to get under her skin and make her snap back. She doesn't this time (surprisingly), because her mind is too preoccupied on what is going on around her. She knows they're perfectly safe, but with no way to contact the outside world and America's extensive number of media outlets moments from breaking the story about a full scale prison riot, she also knows it's just a matter of time before Wallace's day is once again ruined with worry about her. Her mothers going to freak out because there's not a chance the news channels can stop themselves from reporting this once it gets out. She gives them ten minutes before they're breaking news on every news station in the state, Fifteen before they're on the national news. But for now, she sits back and doesn't say anything to Sam, doesn't even bother to give him the reality check of what she's thinking in her head.

...

*Ten minutes later*

Across the city, the rest of the team are waiting at the CIU. Wallace appears in the door way, eyebrows furrowed. "Where's Hayes, she's suppose to be meeting me to discuss your newest case?"

Tess smiles, "She's following up a lead with Sam Sir, they're at the state prison and should be back soon."

Conner nods, about to say something more when his phone rings and he has to pick it up. "Wallace."

 _There's been an incident at the state prison Conner, the entire max security wing has started rioting, we have an emergency meeting happening downtown in fifteen minutes._

He ends the call without a word because Hayes is at the prison. His face must show the absolute terror he's feeling because Tess speaks up. "Sir is everything ok?"

Wallace shakes his head, "Turn on the news."

 _Prisoners have taken over...reports of injured guards...unknown fatalities..._ The host goes on and on as they watch for a moment in silence. Maxine's the first to work out why they're watching footage of what's happening across the city. "That's where Hayes and Sam are, right?"

Nobody answers, or Wallace doesn't hear anyone give an answer before he's striding towards the elevator to figure out a way to contact Hayes and make sure she's ok.

...

They're over ninety minutes into their lockdown now and the waiting is getting harder and harder. Hayes starts to figure out all the things wrong with her life, with number one on that list being the fact that she's barely had breakfast and now it's an hour past lunch. This wouldn't usually be an issue and it would be laughable to be bothered about something so pathetic but the pregnancy is really taking it out on her. The last time she skipped lunch, she ended up with a concussion and a whole lot of embarrassment, there's definitely no need for a repeat performance.

Also on her list of issues is the growing headache from sitting in the artificially lit room, the aching in her back from either the cheap and nasty chairs or the fact she has a life growing inside her, the state of her neglected and non manicured nails which suddenly seem interesting and the extremely agitated man sat opposite her. She doesn't even have to look up at him to see the annoyance radiating.

Hayes head is really giving her some bother, so much so that her eyes go a little strange. She pats her pocket for the spare pair of glasses she keeps for when she loses her good pair and pops them on. She sees Sam give a small smile then, "Since when do you wear glasses?". It's more of an accusation than a question but Hayes answers anyway. "Since I have a headache."

He nods, finally making eye contact with her after almost an hour of silence. "Do you ever give an honest answer or is everything just a joke to you?"

Hayes raises her eyebrows, "Would knowing that I've worn glasses since I've been eight years old really have made your day extra special, brought a bit of sunshine into your life?"

Sam loosens his tie, undoes a button and sighs, "No but it would be nice not to just be sitting here. We could be stuck here for hours, maybe overnight." The thought of hours spent in the room makes her go cold inside and Hayes feels herself physically pale, the colour drains from her skin as Sam shoots her an amused look. "Are you really that repulsed by the thought of my company?"

She shakes her head, "For once, you're not the problem, I'm just not feeling great, this rooms too hot."

It's too late to take the statement back. Sam has his jacket drawn around his broad shoulders, arms crossed to keep warm. The room must be cold and here Hayes is telling him how warm everything is. It confuses him for a moment, _this room's too hot_ , because the room is definitely not warm, it's practically Arctic. It has him curious enough to actually take a look at his boss. "You're not sick are you?" She looks sick, or sick-ish. She's a strange colour, somewhere between green and grey just like she had been a few weeks earlier right after she fainted, and right before now he thinks about it. He hopes she's not going to faint.

"No, not sick."

She shakes her head furiously in response, as if trying to remind herself that she isn't sick, just pregnant, she thinks. Does she really want the first person other than Conner to know she's pregnant to be the guy who works for her and hates her at the best of times? Probably not.

It goes quiet again and stays that way until 7pm with only a few scathing comments and a few questions about work thrown in. That's when the wall phone rings and Sam gets given a code. In a matter of moments they're being met by men clad in specialist gear and being led towards the exit.

She knows it's not the end of her day because there's going to be phone calls from her mother and probably Jackson, questions from Tess, Frankie and Maxine, paparazzi camped outside her office and one very unhappy boyfriend.

...

She spots Conner Wallace standing a few feet away.

One very unhappy boyfriend indeed.


	5. Chapter 5

It's admirable to see someone keep so much control when they know people are watching. Conner doesn't know how he's doing it. Standing completely still and not running straight up to Hayes the moment he sees her appear in the doorway of the building. He'd been assured hours ago that she and Sam had made it to a safe place and were in no danger but that still left him worrying. As she gets closer and closer some of that worry leaves him because she's not fainting on the floor like she had two weeks ago and not looking close to doing so. She's a little pale and oddly, wearing her spare pair of glasses, but pale and squinting through her glasses is good enough for him. God, if he knew her being pregnant would cause him so much anxiety in advance he would have got a therapist or something.

Conner still doesn't touch her when she and Sam approach, finally halting in their step. Instead he asks them both if they're good. Sam nods, and Conner slaps him on the shoulder. "Good job in there, Maxine's parked up a little over there, she'll take you home."

...and that's that. Sam wishes them both good night and leaves.

That's when his attention turns to Hayes, "Are you alright?" It's a stupid question because she's been locked in a room with Sam for 5 hours whilst there was a full scale riot going on around her, but he needs that reassurance from her.

She smiles and it's tired but real. "I'm fine. I just need some food, and my bed."

Somehow through his worry Connor manages to smile back. "I can help with both of those things I imagine." He motions towards her car, "I have your keys, your bag's in the passenger side."

Hayes nods and before she knows it they're driving away from the prison. There's close to 30 missed calls on her phone, most from Jackson who's vacationing in Hawaii. She texts him that she's fine, promises a call the next day when she's not so tired. He tells her to have a scotch and relax- if only. There's also several calls from her mother and a text which is presumably from the point at which her mother realised that her only daughter isn't going to meet a grisly end that day. _Give me a call soon darling, we need to arrange lunch one day next week_. It's about as heartfelt as the woman comes.

...

When food is already waiting for her as she arrives at Conner's apartment she can't quite work out whether her boyfriend is magic or just knows her extremely well.

She's collapsing into the couch and closing her eyes when she hears Conner stifle a laugh from behind her. "Is my almost demise that hilarious to you?"

He smiles so much his eyes crinkle in the corners, and hands her a plate of food. "As much as your demise would have been convenient to my long term freedom, I was just laughing at myself. I was about to ask you if you wanted some red wine."

"I'm glad you didn't, after the day I had, I probably would have said yes."

He smiles again and hands her a juice, "As much as I want to be an ever loyal boyfriend I can't let you have wine, your OB would kill me."

Hayes laughs, "True."

The conversation is easy, both pretending that they hadn't spent the day worried as hell, as it goes from a conversation about the quality of the Chinese food they're eating to the dismal size of Conner's kitchen to their sonogram appointment the next week. There's a pause as Conner realises something. "We're going to have to tell people next week, 16 weeks is safe, really safe."

She nods and gestures to her stomach, "I know, the secret is getting a little hard to hide anyway." Conner tilts his head to the side and stares at her midsection because it's only really when you know what you're looking for that the pregnancy is obvious. He reminds her that it's good to gain weight. Hayes hums in response and suddenly her eyebrows knit together.

"Why didn't you take Sam to that conference?"

Conner huffs. "Because I wanted a few days with you. Alone."

Its Hayes turn to play the responsible boss. "And it was great, but Sam's pissed off at me now. He thinks you don't like him and believe me Conner, he needs to be patted on the head like a puppy to get through the day." She pauses, "I think that when we tell the team that I'm going to be, you know, giving birth in a few months, we should talk to Sam and give him the reigns for a while."

Wallace is silent for a moment as the reality of their situation sets in. In just a few short months this will no longer be just his apartment, in fact, he doubts he'll still be here in a few months, there's no where near enough space for a baby (and Hayes) to stay. Soon there will be somebody depending entirely on him. He'd forgotten about the fact that Hayes would be taking time off work, probably a few months. "I'll speak with him."

"Good. Now I'm going to bed, you're free to join me."

He pushes himself up from the couch, and grabs Hayes hands, pulling her up after him. "It's my bed, I don't think I need your permission to sleep in it."

She raises her eyebrows and leans in close, "Oh believe me, if I didn't want you in my bed, you'd be on the floor."

...

The next day at the CIU is relatively quiet, all the drama and excitement of the previous day mostly forgotten. Sam's in his usual place when Hayes strolls through the door and eyes her curiously. She holds her hands up to silence him and the rest of the team. "Yes I'm 5 inches shorter, no I haven't shrunk, I just have a stiff back from sitting in a shitty plastic chair for six hours yesterday. Questions?"

There is none.

She had woken up with awful back pain, grumbled to Conner to get a better mattress and begrudgingly gotten out of bed before 7am. There had been time for breakfast, a shower and a trip to her own apartment for flat shoes when she realised that the heels were definitely not going to work. She's not entirely sure whether the back pain is a new and improved side effect of growing a tiny human (better than morning sickness) or just back pain from the chairs, but it's not too awful and sitting in her comfy work chair helps alleviate the worst of the pain.

Hayes can't help but notice how quiet Sam is. He doesn't contribute much to the group discussion or put a case forward. Frankie makes a comment that would usually have him up in arms and giving his own thoughts, but today he just sits there and looks just about as defeated as Hayes had ever seen him.

When she sets the team off on their jobs she takes a deep breath, _oh god I'm going to regret this so much_ , "Sam can I speak with you in my office quickly?"

He obviously doesn't have much choice in the matter and follows after Hayes. Maxine yells that she'll go grab a coffee whilst she's waiting for him then disappears.

There's something about him that is exceptional, Hayes had no doubt about that from the minute she met him and despite his obnoxious ways, he had an extremely good heart. She wants him to know this so badly, but saying it all like that is way too much, too much for her to make herself say out loud and probably too much for Sam to handle without thinking she's trying too hard. The door is barely closed before he starts talking, "Hayes if this is about yesterday, I was annoyed and hungry and not in the best mood so I'm sorry if I pissed you off, you don't need to tell me these things."

She shakes her head, "This conversation isn't about yesterday, it's about- the future."

He rolls his eyes, "I'm sure we can work through our problems, we don't need to have a chat about how we're going to become the best of friends."

"As much as the thought of being best friends with you really makes me happy inside, this is more a professional conversation", she takes a breath, "In about five months I'd like you to step up your role within the CIU, become the temporary leader."

He looks confused, "You want me to do your job whilst you go on a vacation?"

Hayes sighs, sits heavily onto her couch, "No, it's more than me taking a vacation for a few weeks, this is more like-a few months."

She looks up and sees the same thing, Sam still looks confused.

Here is goes.

"I'm pregnant."

...

She waits for almost a minute before Sam finally looks her in the eye. "You're pregnant?"

Hayes nods, "Yep. Do you need me to repeat it, or are you good hearing it just the once?"

"No I get it, I just didn't realise you wanted kids", he takes a step closer, "I'm not the first person you've told am I? Because Jesus Christ Hayes this is some big news and I feel like we're not exactly close enough to be sharing-details."

She laughs, imagines what he must be thinking inside his head. Is she going to cry? Or die? Or give birth on the office floor? "You're a close second, but I'll have to let everyone know soon, I'm almost 16 weeks. Anyway, back to the actual point of this heart to heart, I want you to take my job, pay included and run the team until I come back."

"I don't think Wallace is going to be a big fan of that idea."

Hayes finds herself laughing again because Sam doesn't know Wallace is the father or has already agreed to this arrangement. "He's a fan, or at least he was yesterday when I pitched the idea. Either way, it's up to me, it's my team."

"Right."

There's a pause, neither of them know what else to say because of course Sam wants to take over and cover for Hayes whilst she goes off an a has a baby. But they'd never been close, not since the day Hayes walked in and pretty much stole his job, and the news she just told him has come as a big shock. There's a flash of dark hair in the corner of her eyes as Hayes looks through the glass door and sees Maxine walk past, coffee in hand.

Hayes motions to the door, "You can-go with Maxine now, I just wanted to let you know that I see what you do for this team and that I trust you."

Sam smiles, reaching for the door. "Thanks, that's probably the nicest thing you've ever said to me."

"Don't get used to it-now go do your job."

There's only one more thing for him to say before the door clicks open. "Congratulations Hayes, I think you're going to be a great mom."

Sam's gone before she can even process the words. He's not there to witness the way her eyes water because you're going to be a great mom is more than she expected him to say, is more than she expects the press and probably her own mother to say.

Her team is definitely made up of the right people.

...

As they get in the elevator, Maxine looks over and sees Sam has the ghost of a smile on his face, a stark contrast to how he looked ten minutes earlier, all doom and gloom. "What's got you all cheered up?"

He sips the coffee she brought for him. "Hayes just gave me a pep talk, it helped."

Maxine almost spits her own coffee because Hayes Morrison does not do pep talks. Especially with Sam. Sure she does listening when nobody's around and the office is empty, but along with a few sarcastic comments and the offer of alcohol, that's the extent of her pep talks. Sam has the look of a little boy he's just been brought a new toy, she recognises that look after years of being a mother, and is trying to hide his happiness. "Do I want to know what she said to you?"

He nods, "Probably, but it's not my place to say anything."

It's made Sam think, this pregnancy revelation of Hayes. She's 16 weeks meaning all those times she came into the office looking hungover, she was probably just getting sick. Those few days she had off around 8 weeks back for an apparent flu was also probably pregnancy related. Then that time a few days earlier where she actually fainted. She'd spent the majority of the previous day in a maximum security prison during a riot, no wonder she looked a little green through the whole ordeal.

He has a lot of clarity in the elevator as he realises his boss has soldiered her way through some pretty tough times the past few weeks in silence. Anxiety surges through him as he realises a lot could have gone wrong in that prison if they had ended up caught in the riots; Hayes had been pretty brave.

"Hayes is actually pretty ok, as a person I mean."

Maxine shoots him a look, a bit confused by his seemingly out of the blue revelation, "She tries to hide it but she cares about us, and the CIU, she just has a strange way of showing it."

The elevator pings open and they head out.

...


	6. Chapter 6

A week and a sonogram of a perfectly developing baby later, Hayes finds herself nervously waiting for the rest of the team to get back from their latest case. They're interviewing people related to the potential innocent and before Hayes had disappeared for her OB appointment two hours earlier, she left them with a vague "I'll be back in a while."

She hadn't missed the look Frankie shot Tess across the table clearly wondering what kind of trouble their boss had got herself into this time.

There had been a toss up in the car on the way back to the office as whether to tell her mother or her team first, with common sense finally prevailing- she doesn't need her lunch ruined with her mother yelling down the phone at her. She finally decides to contact a friend who happens to be a journalist, leaks her pregnancy and expects it to plaster the tabloids early the next morning. They had been under strict instructions not to publish anything for another two hours, giving Hayes enough time to let her team know. It can't be that hard to say two words.

...

When it actually comes to telling them, those two words will just not leave her mouth.

They're all sat round a table, waiting for their boss to say why she called an impromptu meeting with two hours notice, the boss who now is completely ignoring them all. Sam looks relaxed, after all he knows what she's going to say, but everyone else looks terrified.

Tess finally asks a timid question, "Hayes, we're not getting shut down are we?"

Hayes shakes her head, "No, it's nothing to worry about, I just need to let you all know about something."

There's a deep breath and once again she's the overly confident Hayes Morrison once more. "I'm pregnant, and I'm going to get fat, I thought you needed to know before that became the case." They all look absolutely stunned. The team know all about her wild ways, have read about her wild child behaviour online, seen the topless photos and stories of love affairs with married men, but pregnant seems way too much for them to handle.

The team all look like they've got a lot to say, but they don't even know where to begin. So Hayes does it for them. "You can each have one question with an honest answer, shoot."

Frankie goes first, "Was it an accident?"

"Is anything I do ever not an accident?"

Frankie shrugs, clearly happy with the question being answered by another question.

Tess goes next, she's practically squirming in her seat, "How many months are you?"

"4 months, today actually, next."

Maxine ponders and finally shrugs, "Does the father know?"

Father, baby, abort mission- "He does, I told him about 2 months ago."

Maxine looks like she has another question but Hayes doesn't even give her a chance to ask. "One question."

She's about to go into what they need to accomplish for the rest of the day when Sam starts to talk. "Don't I get a question?"

 _Oh god, he's going to ask why the father is and I'm going to have to tell my team I'm sleeping with my boss_. "Who's the baby daddy?"

Baby daddy? Really? "Conner Wallace."

Sam looks outraged, "You slept with our boss?"

"Technically I'm sleeping with our boss, it wasn't just a one night stand you know."

It's a lot for everyone to take in but they do and within five minutes they're back onto the case. She should be happy knowing that everyone in her life knows about the baby or will know within the next few hours but she's uneasy about it, privacy has always been something Hayes loved but being the former first daughter of the United States, it was not usually easy to come by. It leaves her irritated just thinking about it and by the time everyone is off to do more work towards the case she's more than a little agitated. The outrage on Sam's face when he learnt she's sleeping with Wallace just adds to the agitation. The teams surprise to hear it wasn't some kind of one night stand- would she even be in a relationship with Conner right now if she hadn't got pregnant?

She thinks back to 8 weeks ago when he left for a week when she let him down. When he came storming back into her apartment a few days later he was going to yell at her before he saw the state she was in. Does he even love me?, Hayes thinks to herself.

Sat in her glass office a while later after yelling at someone on the phone, her mood is still dark. The doctor had mentioned something about pregnancy hormones earlier and it's quite possible that they're too blame, but there's no way to switch off the bad mood. She never learns though - an unhappy Hayes is the most destructive.

There's a knock on the door and when she looks up there stands Wallace, all smiles and sunshine, obviously still on a high from seeing their baby earlier. He's so caught up in his own good mood he doesn't recognise the signs that Hayes is not really feeling the same way until it's too late. "You remember we have a dinner tonight, you're my plus one?

Crap. The mention of the dinner brings a conversation they had a couple of weeks ago to the forefront of her mind. She really does not want to go anywhere near a fancy restaurant and a bunch of people she doesn't particularly know. It's a work thing rather than a personal thing though, so it's not like it would be odd for him to bring another person. "Why don't you take Sam instead, I'm a little tired."

Not the right thing to say as memories about ruined dinner plans resurface. "Do you just not want to be seen in public with me, because that's what I'm starting to think here." It's half joking but the conversation takes on a serious tone.

She puts down her pen and looks directly at him, "I'm just not in the mood, okay?"

He steps in closer, "What's wrong Hayes, you're being a little cold here."

She takes her chance and comes right out with it. "Would you even be with me right now if I hadn't got pregnant?"

-and he hesitates, his facial expression clearer than a thousand words. No. He doesn't even need to say it. He doesn't even want to be with her, she's just a burden, an obstacle that's going to fuck his life up from this point onwards. Then he's shaking his head, "I love you Hayes, I have since the moment I met you, is that so hard for you to believe?"

Loving somebody doesn't necessarily mean you want to commit the rest of your life to them and right now, she's not even sure in Wallace wants to commit to the next five minutes with her. There's no more questions though. Hayes just nods. "You really should take Sam to this thing tonight, I'm going to head home, I need an early night."

...

She's always been compulsive. In recent months compulsive has involved impromptu visits to coffee shops, trips to Los Angeles to go shopping and all other boring and pointless activities that seem to have become the new norm for a new and improved Hayes Morrison. The old Hayes Morrison's version of compulsive would be taking pills, no questions asked, sleeping with students, running away when things get tough. In that moment with her suitcase packed and ticket purchased at the airport desk, she's the old Hayes Morrison. The days of drugs and sleeping with students is over, but running is not something she's done with yet.

There's a message left with Wallace's PA, she needs a few personal days, and she knows he won't get the message until the morning. It's cruel, running like this but there's news stories about to break across the nation about her pregnancy and she needs space away from that, needs space away from the only man who's ever really loved her.

...

The next thing she knows she's 30,000 feet up in the air and flying away from New York.

Hayes Morrison is really great at running. And ruining things.

* * *

Wish this his show hadn't got cancelled, it had potential!


End file.
